


Thaylen Sword

by Messis Hythica (she_is_rysn)



Category: Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: F/M, Married Sex, Polyamory, Thaylen City, Urithiru, it's how you swing it, it's not the size of the sword, set mid-OB
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-13
Updated: 2021-01-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:07:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 7,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23638027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_is_rysn/pseuds/Messis%20Hythica
Summary: After her husband gets run through by a Thaylen noble, Navani decides to follow suit.
Relationships: Dalinar Kholin/Navani Kholin, Navani/Kdralk
Comments: 12
Kudos: 16





	1. Thaylen City Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Welp, nobody's asking for this one, but ever since I wrote the Dal/Kal smut it only seemed fair to give Navani her own fun. Probably not a huge shock that i have a soft spot for Thaylens...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flirting, foreplay, penetration at the last second.

Dalinar stalked away, waving off Navani’s attempts to follow. Though she knew with certainty that her husband was going to emerge from the conflict victorious, her heart was still pounding with the suspense and excitement of his fight with the young Thaylen noble. 

That young Thaylen noble stood a few steps away, conveniently shirtless and sweaty. Navani happened to know very well that men - young men in particular - had a surplus of energy after a duel. And she happened to enjoy helping them expend that energy very, very much.

 _My turn next, gemheart_ , she thought to herself.

“That was well fought,” Navani greeted the young man as she approached Kdralk and his entourage. Two of them were comically now offering him _their_ shirts, which meant half of them sought to cover themselves as she addressed the group.

“Your husband is a madman,” Kdralk spat as he smoothed back an eyebrow, shrugging into a compatriot’s too-small clothing. His shoulders flexed in resistance to the restrictive fabric, which meant he would want it off of him as soon as possible. Wonderful.

“I know he is,” Navani replied, smiling for real. She took one step closer to the captainlord, which had the desired effect of moving his friends back by a few steps. Thaylens respected and understood powerful women, and Navani liked that. Her pulse fluttered in her throat as the young man met her eyes, defiance morphing into confusion into a feral understanding.

“Could I speak to you confidentially?” The practiced mask of professional interest was easy to summon. Navani used it frequently to cover a host of other emotions, and it served her well now. “Not in any official capacity, of course. I have just a few...cultural questions that hardly seem worth raising during an official state visit. I would be deeply grateful if you found time to satisfy my curiosity.” 

Navani caught the faint rise and fall of Kdralk’s chest, accentuated by the cut of his short coat. In the corner of her eye, she saw his entourage watching attentively. Even better. Seduction was its own display of power, and having an audience would make the lordling more likely to take the bait. 

A predatory smile curled on the young man’s lips, and Navani let her eyes dart shyly to the side. The youth was likely too smart to believe the playacting, but it reset the dynamic and allowed him to take the reins. 

“Brightness,” the word had more texture coming from his lips, “Nothing would give me more pleasure in this moment. I have business to attend to,” he announced stiffly to his friends, offering a chivalrous arm to Navani.

Navani smiled, accepting the arm with gracious formality. A breeze carried the scent and heat of his body to her senses, which she enjoyed.

“That’s very kind of you,” she responded as he guided her down a narrow pathway. “I imagine you must be tired, after--”

“Not at all,” the young man interrupted, more eagerly than he probably even realized. “Not at all, Brightness. I always have energy to entertain such esteemed guests as yourself.” Navani hurried to keep his pace, which was quickening by the minute. 

“There is a lovely garden, not too far. It’s not old enough to be on the tour, but when I was a child it seemed _ancient_.”

“So you appreciate the old,” Navani teased, trying not to appear out of breath. She must have failed, for he immediately slowed down. 

“I appreciate beauty, Brightness, at all ages,” Kdralk murmured reassuringly. Navani began to suspect that he would be a better lover than a fighter, and he was quite a good fighter. Looking around, this pathway was miraculously unscathed by the Everstorm’s damage. Navani made a note to review the topography of this area at a later time.

Kdralk looked furtively behind them before turning to a narrow iron gate that groaned as he pushed it open. Navani took his outstretched hand, allowing him to lead her down a curving stone pathway, lined with shalebark arrangements gone untended in the recent turmoil. The pad of Kdralk’s thumb brushed lightly against her palm as they walked, and every heartbeat that passed in this silence ricocheted through her entire body. Though Navani was committed to the submissive role in this encounter, she was beginning to chafe with impatience.

“What a lovely garden, captainlord,” Navani complimented. “It’s very kind of you to share it with me.” 

At this, the young man turned abruptly to Navani, using his grip on her hand to pull her close. Cautiously, he searched her face, as if expecting all of this to be some kind of cruel deception. Bright blue eyes practically sparked with passion, and Navani wondered if it was considered too personal to touch those long, swept eyebrows, which she very badly wanted to do. 

“No tricks,” Navani promised, and Kdralk’s mouth was on hers before she could take another breath. Apparently, this was all the reassurance he required.

Havahs were designed for chastity, which Navani had always detested. The floor-length skirts and hip-hugging cut meant that it could be awkward to give...access, when one desired it. Kdralk appeared admirably undaunted by this, and within the next heartbeat Navani was lifted into his arms, thighs astride his hips. Kdralk’s hands were already somehow under every layer of her havah, and in those arms she felt as light as a spren. Navani worked her fingers across the front of the young man’s too-small shirt, appreciative that he hadn’t taken the time to re-fasten the jacket. He shifted her weight from arm to arm so she could peel off his clothing in a deliciously awkward dance that made them both giggle into each other’s mouths. 

As Navani ran her hands down Kdralks’ biceps, which were just as impressive to her hands as her eyes, the restrained knob of his erection brushed against her in a very pleasurable way. Pressing into that part of him, Navani broke from the kiss and stared into those bright blue eyes in both invitation and challenge. Smiling that same hunter’s smile, he lowered her to the ground, careful to keep her body pressed impatiently against his cock. Navani lifted her skirts, slowly untying her undergarments until they dropped freely off her hips. Kdralk did not respond in kind, choosing instead to step back and watch the activity unfold around Navani’s nether regions, one hand stroking himself over his trousers. Navani smiled at the young man’s expression, for she knew it well. This was a man creating a plan of attack, and she liked a lover who came prepared. 

In a single motion, the young man was kneeling before Navani with his head under her skirt, hot breath tickling her skin as his lips rose to meet the lips beneath her havah. In her experience, a hotheaded lord fresh from a duel was impatient to make use of the sword between his legs, so she wasn’t expecting this encounter to take such a turn. 

Easing one of her legs over his bare shoulder, Kdralk lapped at Navani urgently, his bare chest and arms grazing her skin in more places than she could count. She swallowed a cry as his tongue circled her clitoris, releasing the impulse as a deeply vibrating moan. Her one standing leg was growing wobbly, and her hands slipped across the layers of her own skirt as she sought to steady herself on the shoulders beneath. Kdralk grasped her hips to steady her, even as his lips and tongue worked to destabilize her further.

Just on the verge of climax, the movement beneath Navani’s havah came to a suspenseful pause. Swiftly and gently, Kdralk lifted her leg off his shoulder, and she heard the soft jangle of buckles from under her skirts. Flushed and smiling, Kdralk emerged from under the yards of silk, and when he lifted her back into his arms there was a sword unsheathed to greet her. Taking a cue from her husband, Navani pulled it into herself as far as she could.


	2. Thaylen City Part 2

Wrapping her legs tight around the young Thaylen’s waist, Navani urged him with her hips, riding the young man’s cock like a Rhyshadium. Used to Dalinar’s heretically wide member, it was initially underwhelming to receive Kdralk into herself, but the captainlord made up for it with his battle plans. Pinning their hips together with his arms, he carried Navani to a flat stone bench and sat. Navani’s own weight drove him deeper inside, which he seemed to enjoy very much. For the first time, Navani noted how careful the young man was to keep her hair, makeup and havah pristine. As she swirled her hips around his stiffness, his fingers gently peeled back the collar of her havah, delivering nips and kisses just shy of bruising. Queen Fen should be proud to have raised such a skilled and considerate young man.

Emboldened by the sounds she was eliciting from the man under her, Navani carefully brushed her finger across his cheek, gently lifting an eyebrow which had come loose. She couldn’t help giving it a small, satisfying twirl before tucking it back behind his ear, which caused the young man to chuckle, lifting his eyes to meet hers. 

“How long have you wanted to do that?” he asked, quirking the eyebrow she’d just arranged for him.

“A while,” Navani admitted. “Roughly as long as I’ve wanted to do this.” 

The way Kdralk kissed her then, Navani suddenly understood in her bones why the Thaylens prayed to Passion.

Grasping her legs, the captainlord swung his body at a right angle and lay down along the bench. Kdralk reached towards her, and as they laced their fingers together his hips pushed urgently against hers, coaxing her back into movement. Navani rolled against him, using the tether of his iron grip to stir herself around that sweet Thaylen sword. The muscles of his chest and shoulders flexed and moved as she did the same around him, sending encouraging tension where she felt his presence inside her. Dalinar was a thrill to make love to, but he had little interest in this kind of dynamic. That generally suited Navani just fine, but storms, was it fun to tower over a partner for once. 

Feeling suddenly too far away, Navani lunged forward, catching herself on Kdralk’s shoulders as he reached down to grasp her hips. Navani kissed his mouth, his nose, his wonderful eyebrows as they found unison in their movement, heavy and inevitable as waves on the sea. Her clitoris thrilled against him, sending lightning bursts of pleasure across the nape of her neck. The cry Navani had suppressed earlier came spilling out onto Kdralk’s lips, and he all but swallowed the sound, thumbs digging into the crease where her thigh met her hip. 

The young man suddenly growled, pushing them both upright in a breathtaking surge of energy. With the control of a dancer, he lowered Navani backward onto the bench, cradling her neck and lower back with utmost care, never departing from within her. The shift in position left Navani slightly dizzy, but Kdralk’s weight on top of her brought her back to the moment. A moan escaped her lips as he found a comfortable position between her legs.

“Brightness,” the young man said once more in his pebbly way, pausing to kiss behind her ear. His naked torso was cool to the touch, chilled by the air. “I hope this was satisfying to your curiosity.”

“Very nearly,” Navani teased, gasping quietly as he caught her earlobe in his teeth, just avoiding an earring. “You’ve very nearly satisfied my...curiosity, once or twice now. I would be so grateful for you to complete the task, if you please.”

“I do please,” Kdralk promised as he thrust into Navani, using one hand to lift her head to his kiss. What a fantastic kisser he was, another thing Navani wasn’t particularly expecting or interested in at the outset. The young man moved in her for a glorious eternity, steadily increasing in tempo as Navani’s pleasure built to a crescendo. Clinging to her last scrap of discretion, Navani forced down the shouts she was desperate to unleash. Pressure boiled within her as she clung to his back, burying her face in his shoulder as contractions released from deep within. Kdralk gave one final push as together they finally found satisfaction. 

Navani’s head bumped uncomfortably back onto the bench as their chests heaved together for a moment or longer. She wondered if Kdralk had been protecting her from that sensation, when it only seemed like he was trying to kiss her.

“You are remarkable,” she sighed, reaching up to tuck back the same eyebrow. Storms, this encounter wasn’t meant to end with such fondness. Now, she didn’t even want it to end.

"Remarkable," the young man smiled, pressing the consonants together as close as their two bodies. "This sounds almost like one of our words. I like it."

As Kdralk gently withdrew, Navani took a not-so-subtle peek at his softened sword. Not the biggest she’d ever seen, but he certainly did know how to wield it. He caught her looking and smiled self-consciously.

“This concludes our tour,” Kdralk spoke with mock formality, offering Navani a hand up after swiftly re-doing his trousers. 

“Thank you, captainlord,” Navani nodded, retrieving her undergarments from the path as he did the same for his shirt and jacket. “I am eternally grateful for such a thoughtful introduction to the delights of Thaylenah. Should you like to visit Urithiru some day, I would be honored to do the same.”

Navani helped re-fasten Kdralk’s coat, straightening its shoulders and sleeves. The young man’s lips caught her temple in a shy kiss. 

“I should like that,” he agreed.

They made it back in time for the next stop on Queen Fen’s tour.


	3. Interlude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Spousal foreplay, penetration at the last second

A few days after her visit to Thaylen city, Queen Fen scheduled her own visit to Urithiru. When Navani caught a glimpse of Kdralk’s name on the list of attendants, she could barely concentrate on her work, making a weak excuse before escaping to...daydream, as it were. In private. 

Upon their return from Thaylen City, she felt she’d done a fairly good job of tucking away that experience in the secret garden--after all, there was so much work to be done. But now that the captainlord’s arrival was an eventuality rather than a fantasy, it was hard to focus on anything else. 

That evening, she was nearly finished tearing off Dalinar’s shirt before he gently got hold of her shoulders, breaking from a hungry kiss. 

“Excited to see your Thaylen prince, gemheart?” Dalinar teased, unbuttoning her collar. He worked with a methodical care that was not at all called for in the moment, but the change of pace allowed Navani to collect herself. 

“Is it that obvious?” she smiled sheepishly, unbuttoning quickly from the other direction until the havah was free to slip off her shoulders. She immediately went to work on her husband’s trousers, pleased to discover them already strained tight. 

“It’s that obvious,” Dalinar punctuated the affirmation with a quick kiss to her temple, followed by a long, meandering tour of her neckline with his lips. 

“Not that I’m complaining,” he mused, easing off the rest of her undergarments with his big, warm hands. “This is working out pretty well for me, too.”

Dalinar stroked her with two fingers, giving a satisfied moan as they moved slickly past her lips. A moan rose in Navani’s own throat as slow, careful pressure moved deeper and deeper within. Dalinar’s thick digits were nearly comparable to Kdralk’s modest (yet wonderful) cock, but of course Navani had no intention of mentioning this to her husband. 

Navani and Dalinar seemed to have a tacit understanding of what they did and didn’t share when it came to their dalliances. While Dalinar would get dreamy-eyed about Kaladin’s smoldering stare or flawless ass, he spared Navani the more...technical aspects of their relations. Similarly, Navani had freely gushed about Kdralk’s debonair charm and adorable eyebrows, but left out, say, the particular maneuvers of his tongue. The dynamic seemed to be working for the moment, and it came with the enjoyable side effect of putting them both enthusiastically in the mood more often. 

Like now, for instance.

Navani buried her face into the scratchy curls that carpeted Dalinar’s broad, scarred chest. He loomed over her, radiating heat from his skin and his lips as his fingertips stroked one of her favorite, favorite places within. Navani reached forward to locate her husband’s cock and was gratified to find it at the height of its potential, larger than the circumference of her fingers and hard as stone. 

“Gemheart,” she murmured into his skin, noticing the humidity of their bodies together. She ran her fingertips along his erection, drawing herself up on tiptoe until her mouth reached his. With easy understanding, Dalinar withdrew frictionless from inside her, wrapping her leg around his hip. 

Breaking from the kiss, he gazed at her with those piercing eyes, smiling a smile that contained both adoration and amusement. His cock pressed into her insistently, and her depths ached in their vacated state. Growing impatience fed Navani's arousal until the thrum of her own blood became the loudest sound.

“My gemheart,” Dalinar sighed, kissing her deeply. In one motion, Navani was in his arms and he was in Navani. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're going full bodice-ripper, team. Not even gonna pretend anymore.


	4. Urithiru Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Formalities, some Austen-style tension

Moving through the niceties of statesmanship was difficult for Navani, but not impossible. After all, she had been queen for a long time, and she could recall certain instances when it was Dalinar providing the distractions, way back when. The young Thaylen lord handled himself admirably, calling on his soldier’s training to remain impassive, dignified, and devastatingly gorgeous as the Thaylen delegation descended from the Oathgate platform. 

Queen Fen said words, Dalinar said words, storms, even Navani herself must have said some words, and when her husband finally, blessedly, requested a private conference with the Queen, she felt like she could breathe for the first time in an hour. The Queen’s Consort had found entertainment in some of the Windrunner scribes, who were gamely demonstrating their powers of flight. It should have been Navani’s responsibility to attend him, but he didn’t seem to need it. Wonderful.

“We are so pleased you could visit so soon,” Navani greeted Kdralk as he paid her stiff respects. “There is a banquet prepared, just inside.” 

“Oh, thank Passion, Brightness,” he responded, and the texture of his voice caused her blood to rush about unbidden. “I’m famished.”

Kdralk straightened with a haughty puff of the chest, a perfect facsimile of his bravado when they had first met. They were playing their parts well, and Navani found herself frustrated at the facade, suddenly panicking that she had misunderstood his intentions, or, just as bad, that his attraction had faded. He was a young man, after all, undoubtedly...busy, with his own interests at home. Storms. Was she making a fool of herself? 

Of course she wasn’t. Not yet, at least. It was simply time to proceed with more caution. 

“I hope you will excuse me for the moment, captainlord,” Navani lifted her head slightly, summoning all her regal composure. Was that a flash of disappointment across his eyes? Thank the Heralds. “The Archive is a point of distinct pride for me, and I would regret missing the moment when your own scholars discover it for the first time.”

Navani glanced back at the cluster of ardents and Thaylen visitors filing into the city’s grand archway, already engrossed in animated conversation. It really  _ was  _ exciting, having the chance to show off such a revolutionary find. Navani turned back to Kdralk, and it was difficult, so difficult not to reach for him. 

“I can’t imagine that you and your entourage would find much excitement there,” Navani said, glancing at the retinue of Thaylen officers who stood nearby, “but I hope that you will take full advantage of our hospitalit--”

“I should like to see this archive,” Kdralk interrupted, the last word all purring  _ r  _ and  _ v _ . “Because I like to duel, you assume I do not enjoy to study?” 

A gently mocking smile curled at the corner of his lips. Navani wanted to devour it. 

“My apologies, captainlord,” she laughed slightly, adopting his tone. “That was rude of me to assume. I would be honored by your company.”

The young man gave a satisfied smile at this. Dismissing his friends with a sharp nod of the head, he offered Navani his arm. Scarcely breathing, she took it. 


	5. Urithiru Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> hot & heavy makeout

Navani spouted facts about Urithiru’s dimensions and the function of the Oathgate platforms as they walked arm in arm towards the heart of the city. They were both dressed for an official state visit: him in a traditional short coat of crisp golden silk and white trousers; her in a Kholin blue havah with silver embroidery. He was not much taller than her, shoulders at about the height of her chin. It was just another one of the many novel things she enjoyed about her companion. 

In anticipation of the day’s activities, Navani had chosen easily removable silver earrings and foregone hairspikes, instead securing her chignon with a net of infused sapphires. She had also equipped her safehand pouch with an extra handkerchief, hairpins, a small mirror, and a tiny pot of lipcolor. It was one thing to be mildly disheveled on the windy walkways of Thaylenah; to appear in her own domain with a single hair out of place was altogether another thing. 

The wind shifted, and Navani caught the aroma of sea air and warm spice wafting from her companion. Navani didn’t recall that scent on Kdralk last time--she liked it a great deal--but then last time was different in a good many ways. A thrill ran down her center as she considered the possibilities. 

“Captainlord,” Navani murmured.

“Yes, Brightness,” Kdralk replied, and she felt the vibration where her fingers clasped his arm. 

“During my visit to Thaylen City, you were so kind as to introduce me to some...particular wonders of your city.”

His arm flexed, squeezing around her hand. 

“I have been hoping you would allow me to do the same.”

“With all my heart,” Kdralk replied instantly. 

Suddenly, the archive became significantly less interesting. 

“I’m so glad,” Navani exhaled. “Please, follow me.” 

She led him to a nearby passageway, pressing a finger to her lips. He nodded, smiling the hunter’s smile that she adored. 

The tunnel was unlit and fell dark before too long, with only the stones in Navani’s hair throwing strange-looking shadows across the walls. Kdralk pulled back on her hand, and suddenly he was pressed behind her, exploring her jawline with his lips and warm breath. Navani pulled his arm around her, releasing a quiet moan as her nerves drank in every inch of his presence, fingers wandering across the brocaded bodice of her havah and embracing the curves of her breasts. Navani considered that he hadn’t really gotten a chance to explore that part of her last time. They would fix that today. 

“We’re not there yet,” She tilted her head to expose more of her skin to his lips, and a shiver cascaded down to her toes. Kdralk released her freehand and made straight for her inner thigh, drawing her legs apart. Her insides practically screamed with excitement.

“We could be there yet,” he purred into her throat. Navani twisted around, throwing all her weight into him as her lips found his. Like a true duelist, Kdralk accepted the momentum and whirled her around again until her back hit the tunnel wall. A moan escaped her lips as each part of him pushed urgently against her. 

Navani’s lips fell open to the exploration of Kdralk’s tongue, and his arms closed around her with a groan as she responded in kind. Her freehand slid across the soft silk that strained along his shoulders, sensing the movement and tension of the muscles below. He had too many clothes on. They both had too many clothes on.

_But not yet, not yet,_ Navani scolded herself. She opened her eyes, pulling back from the kiss and causing Kdralk to do the same. Weird shadows fell across his face as he glanced at her with hazy, impatient eyes. 

“We’re not there yet,” Navani repeated, more firmly this time. They deserved a better setting for their tryst than some musty, dark passageway. It wasn’t becoming, and besides, they had their clothes to think of. This path led to a fabrial lift that would deposit them dozens of floors above, to an out-of-the way chamber with a breathtaking view. It was uncharted, unpopulated, and exactly what they required. After all, Kdralk had shown her someplace private and unexpected, so it was only fair to return the favor.

But first, they had to get there.

Reaching behind herself, Navani slid her fingers between the small of her back and Kdralk’s own hand, coaxing his fingers apart until their hands were twined together. Storms, that grip. 

Navani rose onto her toes until her lips just brushed the eyebrow tucked behind his ear. 

“On the way over, I’ll tell you everything I’m going to do to you.”


	6. Urithiru Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dirty talk, fabrial foreplay

“First, I am going to undress you so quickly and carefully that not one crease will mar those beautiful clothes.” Navani’s heart fluttered in her throat as she spoke. She had never spoken like this to anyone, ever. 

“Then, I am going to lay you down and put your cock in my mouth,” she murmured into the darkness, rewarded with a small gasp from her companion. They were back on their path, nearly stumbling in their impatience. She had factored travel time into her plan, just not the torture of having to _wait_. 

“I want to explore every inch of you with my tongue,” she promised, beginning to salivate, “and when you--”

“I have been dreaming of your taste, Brightness,” the sound of his voice shook Navani’s every cell. “After you left, I cursed your havah for the skin it withheld from my lips.” 

_Storms_. Navani didn’t know how to respond to that.

They walked silently for a moment, sensing each other’s breathing, fingers twining, stroking and clasping in a weak approximation of what was to come. 

And then daylight, a bright, quiet corridor overlooking the Oathgates, and a fabrial lift. 

“A closet, brightness?” Kdralk smiled as they paused before it. “After such a journey, I was expecting--”

“Not a closet,” Navani replied, ecstatic at the sight of his flushed face. She pulled on his hand, and he allowed himself to be led. 

As she’d done many times before, Navani inserted an infused gem and switched the lever into position. Kdralk’s eyes widened as the lift came to life, and he flung both arms out to steady himself as the fabrial began to move. 

“What! What is this?” He stammered, fixing an accusatory glance on her that was also very endearing. 

“Oh no!” Navani laughed. “I forgot to warn you about the lift.” Poor Kdralk, she’d forgotten how jarring it was being lifted for the first time. She could watch his cocksure demeanor fizzle into surprise a million more times. _More surprises then,_ she decided. 

Navani slipped her arms around Kdralk’s waist, feeling him relax into her touch. Pressed against him like this, it was everything she could do not to drop to her knees right then. 

Instead, she started talking. 

“It’s a fabrial powered by a mechanism of gears and pulleys, outside of this chamber. Did you notice how I inserted the gem in the slot?”

“Yes,” came the hungry response. Bit of innuendo there, she realized with a blush.

“And then you pulled that lever with your perfect hand,” Kdralk murmured into her ear. 

“I was jealous of that.”

Sweat broke out across Navani’s forehead as Kdralk pulled her closer, arms circling her shoulders. She would never be able to look at a lift’s mechanics the same way again. 

“Such marvels,” Kdralk mused, tracing the curve of her ear with his tongue. He hummed in satisfaction as she shuddered in response. 

And just like that, the lift stopped and they were there.


	7. Urithiru Part 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Getting naked, mutual admiration

Navani’s heart swelled as they finally, finally reached her own little secret garden, far above the earth. Sky as far as the eye could see, awash with brilliant sunlight that threw long shadows across potted blooms and richly-colored cushions and linens. Dalinar had outdone himself; she didn’t know how he had transported it all here without her knowing, but it was a level of lavishness even Palona would have envied. 

“This looks very comfortable,” Kdralk announced, unbuttoning her collar from behind. Navani nearly swooned as he pressed his lips against her throat, resting a smooth-shaven cheek against her own. He smelled so good, it was unbelievable. 

There was so much she wanted to do, so much she had promised to do. And she would. But for the moment, Navani simply allowed herself to be undressed. Kdralk would periodically gasp in teasing reverence or amazement as he uncovered her shoulders, collarbone, her safehand, greeting every inch with a kiss. He moved with astounding composure and grace, circling her in a way that made her feel more like prized art than prey.

When he was finished, he waited before her, fully and infuriatingly dressed. 

“Captainlord,” Navani took a businesslike tone, feeling slightly ridiculous in her nakedness. 

“Yes, Brightness,” came the compliant response. Her skin grew immediately hot. 

“Please remove your shoes and meet me on the blankets when you have finished. I believe you’ve been informed of our agenda today.” 

“Yes, Brightness.”

Navani’s fingers flew over buttons, clasps and knots, easing off sleeves and cravat, belt, trousers. Where possible, she worked blindly, busying her lips wherever they could reach, learning ribs, navel, thigh, throat. Kdralk’s fingers danced along her shoulders, breasts, cheek, wherever they could reach as she peeled off each layer of his ensemble and laid it carefully beside her own. 

Kdralk took the liberty of laying himself down across the clouds of fabric that carpeted the floor. Fine chestnut curls covered his chest and surrounded his cock, and he rested one arm above his head in a manner that was no less beautiful for being so clearly posed. There was so much  _ him _ , it was overwhelming. Extremely hot and overwhelming. 

“You look like a god,” Navani blurted.

“You flatter me, Brightness.” He laughed in surprise as Navani approached on all fours, settling between his knees.

“To be honest, you--” Kdralk started, but the rest was lost when Navani sheathed his sword between her lips.


	8. Urithiru Part 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oral, feelings

Navani had considered that kneeling before a foreign lord might not be appropriate, but she decided she didn’t care. Anyway, he’d done the same for her, so it was only fair.

It was also very, very worth it. 

Kdralk stiffened immediately in her mouth, smooth and taut and of a manageable size (negotiating Dalinar was a whole situation, by comparison this was downright refreshing). The young Thaylen made gratifying sounds as she massaged his length with her tongue, drawing him so far inside that her lips brushed the soft curls at the base of his shaft, and she felt a tickle at the back of her throat. 

Humming with pleasure, Navani slid her safehand towards his chest, fingers skipping across ridges of muscle. She wanted him everywhere, wanted him inside her at every possible juncture. Kdralk’s fingertips traced the length of her arm, and she heard him mutter something in Thaylen under his breath. Navani’s hair stood on end under that gentle caress, and her pulse pounded between her legs in deafening anticipation. 

Navani was circling his cock with the tip of her tongue, blessing Passion or Kelek or whoever was responsible for its perfection when she heard her name. Not “Brightness,” but her own name, humming and resonant in a way it had never before been pronounced. The sound had an immediate effect somewhere in her core, and it felt dangerously like love.

“Nev’ni,” Kdralk repeated, breathless with pleasure, or desire? Hopefully both. He met her eyes with an invitation that bordered on desperation. A summons, a plea. 

“Please, let me taste you, I can’t wait anymore.” 

It was hard to deny such an appeal. Standing on surprisingly shaky legs, she tripped and stumbled on cushions until her knees straddled the crown of his head. Krdalk’s eyes lit up and his hands reached for her thighs, wetting his lips in anticipation. Certainty, power and pleasure surged through her, and Navani felt that maybe she understood one facet of being Radiant.

“Very well,” she regarded his upside-down gaze, marveling at what luck or fortune could deliver the body beneath her. “But I’m not finished yet, either.” 


	9. Urithiru Part 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 69 (inordinately proud of this)

Navani reached her fingertips towards Kdralk’s hips, stretching across his torso until his cock was once again within reach. The depth of her fondness for this Thaylen sword was almost inexplicable - maybe it was sheer novelty, or the thrilling suspense of longing. Whatever the reason, she was dead set on memorizing its every contour today—its slight curve to the left (both their lefts, from this angle), the circumference and softness of its head, the sharp angle of the erection that met her head-on as she approached from above. She loved it so incredibly much, and when she had him between her lips once more, the gratification was overwhelming.

Meanwhile, Kdralk was using both hands to lower her onto his own lips. Navani moaned with pleasure as he quenched his thirst, burying his face in her slickness with a satisfied hum. She was overcome with a feeling of rightness as they locked into place, something beyond physical arousal or sexual pleasure. The feeling embedded itself inside her with a thrilling finality, too quickly to be undone or even examined.

Under Kdralk’s deft exploration, Navani climaxed almost immediately with a sudden shock, expressing every bit of the orgasm in an ecstatic hum around his stiffness. Lightning may well have been arcing between her toes, and as the final shudder passed along her spine, Navani felt even more awake and more hungry than before. 

Kdralk concluded his feast with the softest kiss, taking firm hold of her hips. In one fluid movement, he rolled them both onto their sides, still face-first in each other’s nether regions and laughing at their slightly awkward position. Before Navani could make moves to correct it, Kdralk pulled off some feat of acrobatics to deliver his body along the same polarity as her own, barely touching. Navani drank in the light of those blue-grey eyes, glowing like infused zircon (though she felt neither wise nor careful). He was smiling, but there was no predatory glint in the eye, no self-conscious quirk of the lip, and though Navani was sure it couldn’t have been possible, this was somehow even more seductive. Her freehand wandered between his shoulder blades, and the fingers of her safehand brushed the short hairs at the nape of his neck. Her nipples just grazed the curls along his chest, and they had somehow woven their legs fully together below the knee. Kdralk’s hand ran a route from her ribs to her hips, around her buttocks and back. Storms, there was so much  _ skin _ , and they could touch all of it with all of them. The possibilities were overwhelming. 

So naturally, before she could stop herself, Navani looked at him and blurted, “I love your cock.” 


	10. Urithiru Part 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Intercourse, wordplay

Kdralks’ eyebrows jumped, and Navani felt suddenly sheepish at this declaration of love. This little tryst between them was borne out of a bloody, shocking duel, sizzling with the arousal that sprang from the violence itself. That things had quickly developed into something so tender and romantic was surprising, and it kept catching her off guard.

“I noticed, Brightness,” Kdralk’s soft laugh fell warm across her skin, and his fingers raced up her back with a thrilling shiver, resting just around the nape of her neck. There was a tiny moment of hesitation, a fragment of a shift, where he seemed to realize that they could very easily already be having sex and somehow were not yet, and that this was a gross misuse of their time and resources. Navani suddenly felt the same, so there was really only one thing to do: she nudged him onto his back, climbed on top of him and kissed him. A soft purr rose in Kdralk’s throat as Navani located his hardness with her softness and drew him inside.

In all these years, Navani was still surprised by her own taste on a lover’s lips. She had never thought to try and describe it, but there was something jarring and singular about it, like catching your reflection on an unexpected surface. Today, she chose to enjoy the experience, letting her tongue dance with Kdralk’s while their bodies settled together in a sparkle of pleasure. 

_ Finally,  _ a voice inside her sighed.

Kdralk murmured something full of friction and heat onto her lips as she churned her hips along her lover’s every meridian. The sound of him in his native tongue was intoxicating, heavy with mystery and authority. Navani was suddenly desperate to please him, to tease every ounce of satisfaction from his perfect bones until she attained fluency in the language of him. 

“Veshlezt,” Navani whispered bashfully back, involuntarily reminded of the fact that, if Dalinar were here, he would be able to understand everything and be fully understood. Navani quickly folded up that thought and tucked it away for another time. 

“What did you say, Brightness?” Kdralk stilled her hips, regarding her with an ironic smile. Navani felt the blood rise in her cheeks, mildly embarrassed to trip so clumsily over a different tongue. But storms, it felt so  _ good  _ to be touched by those hands. 

“It means ‘more,’ doesn’t it? Veshlezt?” Navani asked, initiating gentle movement in her hips once more. 

“ _ Vzhlzt,”  _ Kdralk corrected, “And not exactly--” he interrupted himself with a groan of pleasure “--it means more like ‘repeat’--”

“Repeat?” Navani teased, drawing glyphs inside herself with his stiffness. She could do this forever. She wanted to. 

“Mhm,” Kdralk replied, closing his eyes. He rolled his lips briefly between his teeth. 

“Vshlezt,” she tried again, trying to copy his delivery. Kdralk smiled indulgently, suggesting only marginal improvement. 

“You’ll get there with practice,” he promised, reaching for her kiss once more. Navani had the brief sensation of falling, and after a moment she was on her back, pinned between cool silks and Kdralk’s heat. Her limbs wrapped possessively around his torso, skin sliding on skin as they found a rhythm together, controlled and persistent. Navani let the pillows cradle her head, arching her back into the magnificent body above her. Rarely had she felt so fully at the mercy of another human being. 

Another barrage of crackling syllables fell across her collarbone, and though she couldn’t understand the words, they were easy enough to translate. 

“ _ Vzhlzt,”  _ Navani responded. It turned out to be the right answer. 


	11. Urithiru Part 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> broad overview of sexy exploits, digital penetration, food

Even Navani hadn't anticipated the creative ways one could make love in this space. She lounged bare-breasted over the rails of the balcony, goosepimpled all over by the stiff winds buffeting the tower and Kdralk's stiffness penetrating her from behind. She secured her lover's wrists carefully to the smooth stone pillars, feeding him fruit and wine even as she indulged herself on his miraculously at-attention member. She even allowed herself to be bound, wrists tied and eyes blinded in satin, alert and eager on her knees for the caress of his fingers, tongue and cock, and wondering how she had never thought to tie up either of her husbands before. She lay beside him for what could have been eternities, gazing into the stark blueness of the sky as their heartbeats and limbs settled together in languid exhaustion. Never in her life had Navani experienced hedonism to this degree, or recklessly ignored an entire state visit and the needs of absolutely everyone except herself. There was no way Dalinar understood what a gift he was giving her today. 

Under the covers, Kdralk's fingers wandered across her shoulders and along her ribcage.

"Do you think we are missed, Brightness?" he murmured, turning to bury his nose in her hair with a kiss. The gentle pressure traversed the dip of her waist, twirled around the point of her hip. Navani's hair stood on end with a thrill.

"We may have some explaining to do," Navani responded lightly, hoping not to betray the mild panic she carried at such an irresponsible indulgence. Acknowledging that would ruin everything, and she'd been doing so well. He traced the crease of her thigh, and a gasp dissolved in her throat as Kdralk softly curled his fingers between her lips. 

"A queen owes no explanations," Kdralk reprimanded the crown of her head, pressing gently against the pulse of her clitoris. Urgency rose in Navani's blood for the fiftieth time that day, and she found herself turning once more towards him, shifting her hips to invite him in further. Navani inclined her head, searching for his lips as he effortlessly moved past her own. As with everything else, Kdralk's style of exploration was distinct, self-assured yet gentle. Aided by the slickness of their joint endeavors, he ran his fingertips along her insides, introducing himself in yet another language. Though Navani wouldn’t have believed it possible, new nerve endings awoke and responded to his touch, eager to be petted and loved. Kdralk brushed his thumb across her clitoris, sending a jolt up her spine.

Seized by a startling greed, Navani plunged her tongue past his lips in reciprocation, letting every moan of pleasure vibrate through her kiss. Their breathing deepened in unison, a thing nearly as arousing as the gratifying stiffness of his cock against her thigh. Navani knew what it was to be wanted, worshipped, lusted after. This was something different, something she had no words for. It was glorious.

They managed to bring each other to ecstasy once more, finally rising and dressing in the furtive quiet of a delicious secret. Navani demanded the Thaylen names of every article of clothing as it was returned to their bodies, and the lesson continued as he watched Navani get her face and hair ready. A way to distract from the moment they were leaving, she supposed. Would they be able to pull this off again? The hesitation seemed to be mutual. 

Kdralk insisted on operating the fabrial lift as they descended, smilingly self-conscious at how the mechanism had startled him earlier. They were all straightened up again: pinned, painted and powdered as the occasion warranted, and as she caught their reflections in the glass of the lift, Navani felt something discordant and improbable in how they appeared together. Maybe that was why it was so good.

"I imagine we'll both have duties to attend to," Navani mused, clamping down on the anxiety that was beginning to push forward once more. 

Kdralk chuckled at the understatement. "Yes, I suppose so. For one, I am very hungry. Somehow I've worked up an appetite, and I enjoy Alethi cooking quite a bit." 

He caught her eye in their reflection, and Navani managed not to transfer too much lip paint onto this mouth. 

There were glances, some whispers when they returned. Things she'd observed for decades with the sensitivity of a frillbloom and the calculation of a diplomat. But there was also one very important smile on one very important man, playing every inch the politician in her absence. 

Dalinar looked at her as if to say, "I have it under control." And while she would have ignored the hint any other day, this time she accepted it with gratitude. A glass of auburn wine was offered; Navani accepted it. A seat stood empty next to her daughter; Navani sat in it. A plate appeared before her and she ate. 

"Your absence was noted today," Jasnah chided, though she absolutely knew exactly where her mother had vanished to. 

Navani swept up some sweet gravy with a morsel of bread and popped it into her mouth. A few tables over, Kdralk had reunited with this friends, looking as flawless as when he'd arrived. She smiled at her daughter with her mouth full, chewing and swallowing with satisfaction before responding, 

"A queen owes no explanations." 

Jasnah rolled her eyes.


End file.
